[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I just posted in what was probably the incorrect area.
I was wondering if I could get some input & opinions on freeze dried.
I have been giving my 6 month old Mini-schnauzer Millie the orijen freeze dried regional red and now the adult patties-just 1 for lunch( she adores them). I just am worried about the high fat content in all freeze dried. I looked at Stella & Chewy’s & Sojos.
I would only be using as a topper so I guess it wouldn’t be too bad.
The orijen dissolves poorly I emailed them and haven’t gotten a reply.
I just ordered a bag of Dr.Harvey’s Oracle grain free freeze dried beef -it is costly but I was impressed by the low fat content. Has anyone tried this brand?
Thanks for any input and advice.
Happy New Year to all!!

[bill c]

Cheryl, that’s a great question. I’d like to know the scoop on that too.
I’ll have to look into this: Dr.Harvey’s Oracle grain free freeze dried beef and see if I can
grab from Amazon. First I’ve heard of this, thanks.

[Monica D]

Cheryl,
For years I fed my dog Dr. Harvey’s. I consider it the Rolls Royce of dehydrated/freeze-dried foods. My dog, who had had constant digestive problems, thrived on it and adored it. I unfortunately had to switch because I now have three dogs — the cost and work got a little out of hand.

[theBCnut]

I’ve used it. My dogs really liked it, but mine don’t have any issues with fat level, so I ended up liking Dr. Harvey’s Veg to Bowl fine ground and adding my own meat better.

[DogFoodie]

I’ve used several varieties of Oracle. Both of mine liked it. I especially like that they have a tripe formula.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Bill, you are most welcome, I saw your Impressive fur-kid.
As mini schnauzer parents it’s nice to have someone who can relate to the issues inherent with the breed. I got the Oracle on chewy’s.com -I forgot to check Amazon, I paid 49.99 for a 3 lb. bag which to me is VERY EXPENSIVE. But i know since she is 6 months old Sunday, I won’t be feeding that much,just as a rotational topper if i don’t cook(which I always prefer to do for their toppers).
I just want her to get a more varied diet then my 11 1/2 y.o. angel Pepper.
Have you checked out or used Primal or Vital -a lot of posters like it, so I guess I will get that after the oracle.
A very Happy new year.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

DogFoodie,
I always heard that Tripe was smelly, but if its something good for them, I will have to turn my nose away.
Happy New Year

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

the BCnut,
I will look into that, because i too like to add my own meats, poultry as toppers. Thank you for the info.
Happy New Year

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Monica,
I am tempted to try it on my sick 11 1/2 y.o. schnauzer bad gastritis & irritable bowel.
I am just transitioning her to the Honest Kitchen, very slowly, she seems to love it.
I may just try the Dr. Harvey’s is there 1 in particular you could recommend I try for her, a particular type good for IBS/IBD issues?
As I mentioned I got the freeze dried grain free beef for my 6 month old schnauzer.
Pepper has always eaten Amicus Senior grain free kibble soaked, she has never had freeze dried, that’s why I ask what you would try on her first.
Thank you.
Have a Happy New Year

[bill c]

Thanks Cheryl,

I’m on Honest Kitchen (Zeal…moved from Thrive and Embark due to those twos high fat content) and Acana (changed that too, based on feedback here in the group). You’ll appreciate this. To keep all the wet and dry flakes from messing up his beard i fill Glad bags with the allotted portion, trickle-in some water (filtered of course) shake and mix, then flatten it and stack one on top of the other. The bag-pancakes then go into the freezer. When I feed him, in the morning, I break it up–while its still in the bag–then pour out the little chards into his bowl (on top of his raw, frozen chicken breast) and get it to him before it liquifies. It works wonders. I’ll have to try Primal or Vital. Will see if they have it in the markets here.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

To anyone interested, I just got a reply from Champion Foods about the way their freeze dried Patties dissolve and the recommendation was to microwave the water 30 or 40 sec then mash the patties with a fork . Will try that and see.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Cheryl,

Even if you buy from Chewy.com, go to the Dr. Harvey website: drharveys.com and sign up to receive emails. I just got a promo code yesterday from them, NEWYEAR15, will net you 15% off all orders placed on their site before Saturday, January, 3.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Bill,
Look into the Horizon Amicus & Legacy lines, their fat profiles are good for kibble, never tried Acana and now don’t think I will.
Pepper my 11 1/2 y.o is on the Honest Kitchen grain free samples, I got all of them to try as well as the base mixes.
I love your idea -you will crack up with mine- I keep the mustaches shorter more terrier like cause the long beards drive me insane( the true schnauzer people will kill me) my Pepper is used to getting her beard cleaned after meals, but, Millie fights me and runs around the house until I catch her.
I forget you are overseas and don’t know if Amazon carries Horizon, but it really is a great kibble in my opinion.

[bill c]

Cheryl, will-do, on the food.
Funny about shaving yours. The kids
in the neighborhood would string me up
if I shaved Billy. He’s their 365 days canine
Santa Claus…go figure.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

DogFoodie, Thank you for the info. Will do.
I was asking Monica, if there was a particular food I may try for my older schnauzer who has chronic gastritis. Do you have any suggestions??
She is transiting form kibble (no longer able to digest) to Honest Kitchen grain free.
Thank you

[DogFoodie]

How is she found on THK so far? You said you got samples and she’s eaten several varieties?

I have a young Golden who has food intolerance issues, in addition, he has a sensitive digestive system. When he encounters a food to which he’s sensitive, he will frequently have loose stools. Some of the things I have to avoid for him are tomato, chickpeas, lentils, beans and flax. All of those can potentially be irritating to the digestive system for various reasons and produce gas and loose stool. When I can successfully avoid those ingredients, and fish, he’s a happy camper. I would look for foods for your pup that don’t contain those ingredients either due to her digestive system being easily inflamed.

I would try adding a good quality digestive enzyme. I had great luck with Swanson’s BioCore. I’d also offer raw, green tripe which is full of wonderful digestive enzymes. I buy my raw, green tripe at Hare Today.

[DogFoodie]

Those little beards would be a challenge for me. I’m afraid I’d choose to keep it short. My Cavalier has beautiful long ears, that flop right into her bowl when she eats. Some people with long-eared breeds put a snood on their dogs when they eat.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

DogFoodie,
I hate to jinx it so far, but her stools are good, I thought they would be like cow pies since the

HK is soft, bit so far so good. And some people who commented on the HK thread mentioned loose stools were a problem with HK, so I always was afraid to try it. But after her last vet visit the only choice I had was a vet brand hypoallergenic food( which i have been fighting not to have her on) I decided to give it one last try, I have been dealing with this since I have had her. She has been on the Mercola digestive enzymes as well as their probotics. I got a sample of the HK perfect Form and if a few small amts. are any indication, I think it works better for her then the Mercola.
And it may be wishful thinking ,but I think her energy is better on just a few meals of the HK. She has lost a bit of weight (which she needed) since taking her off the kibble.And she was on a good kibble Amicus senior

She has been eating cooked sweet potato w cooked organic ground turkey or organic pumpkin puree -i think she is so overjoyed getting a little variety.I am keeping my fingers crossed that the HK will be something she can.
OH I am a schnauzer turn coat for cutting their beards-but hey they must look clean!!

[DogFoodie]

I think the only variety of THK that doesn’t contain flax is Thrive. My dog reacted to something he recently ate, so I’m waiting until he stabilizes on his best food, NVI LID Duck, before I try him on the Thrive I bought for him.

I will say also that Mercola Digestive Enzymes didn’t do much for my dog either. I didn’t realize that until I tried the BioCore and saw the amazing difference that it made.

[bill c]

What’s a “snood”?
I’ll have to get one of those

[DogFoodie]

LOL, Bill! They look so silly to me, but they definitely are functional.

http://www.google.com/search?q=snood+dog&source=lnms&hl=en-US&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Xd2kVM7lKMb4yQTOmoGgAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=853.3333333333334&bih=533.3333333333334&dpr=1.5

[Mom2Cavs]

Cavalier owners use snoods due to long ears getting into food. I have some but don’t use them anymore because I keep their ears shorter.

[crazy4cats]

Those are super cute. I can’t imagine putting them on my dogs before every meal. But, They are sure fun to look at!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Orijen is the only brand of freeze-dried that I’ve actually tried to rehydrate and feed to my dogs as a meal and I agree it rehydrates horribly. I do like the ingredients though. Generally I just feed freeze-dred as treats and don’t rehydrate, the brands I use most often are Stella & Chewy’s, Primal and Nature’s Variety Instinct.

[Dori]

Dog Foodie. How funny are some of those pics. Thanks for the laughs. If I put one of those on Hannah (full coat Maltese), first of all she would finally know for sure that I have totally and completely lost my mind and second…she would not eat until she could get it off herself or expect me to get it off so she could eat. Great idea though. I clean her beard after she eats which doesn’t bother me as much as the constant water dripping off her beard all over the place. She absolutely loves water and is always drinking water (always has) so I’d have to keep that on her 24/7 practically. She would so not go for that. 😉

[Kristin C]

Cheryl-referring back to one of your earlier posts, what do you mean about Orijen FD dissolving poorly? If you break up the patties they dissolve just fine. The ingredients are better than Stella and Chewy’s and some of the other products you mentioned are actually dehydrated.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Kristen-I was having a difficult time dissolving the patty-it was gooey -I had never used a freeze dried product,but I guess I was doing it correctly-just didn’t like the way it looked.
Its funny you mention S & C’s -I was just going to order some-since the fat in the Orijen is too high for my mini schnauzer.
i do apologize I was mixing up freeze dried & dehydrated-i got that straight.
I use Honest Kitchen was going to try the Sojos,but may not for my older gal.

[Kristin C]

Cheryl-I use Orijen FD and have never found it to be gooey. Initially I found it took too long to dissolve, but resolved that by breaking it up before adding water. I feed it individually (sometimes) but mainly use it as a 50/50 mix with Orjien Adult kibble once per week. If you have not used Sojos yet, it is a dehydrated product that does not digest well for either of my dogs (comes out in their poop). I even tried pureeing it after rehydrating to chop up the pieces but that didn’t work and I threw the rest of the bag out. Luckily, it’s not that expensive.

S&C dissolves easily, but I don’t love the ingredients, nor did one of my dogs:( So I say find which one’s good for pup(s) and go with it. Stewart’s is another FD I found, but I think it’s processed the HPP way like S&C and one of my dog’s doesn’t seem to do well with those products.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Kristen,
What breed(s) do you have? My 6 month old Mini schnauzer was getting 1 Orijen patty for lunch with cooked carrots.
I could never give her more than 1 patty due to the high fat.
I have been giving her the orijen & horizon legacy & Amicus Puppy formulas but when these bags are finished , she will transition to the adult formulas
Thank you for the heads up about Sojos, I guess the HK varieties will be the next rotation I give her.
Have you seen or used the Stella & Chewy’s “MEAL TOPPERS” -it is a freeze dried product and I do intend to email the company about analysis on them -I think it comes in 3 varieties .
Primal frozen was recommended for me to try-the rabbit & venison ,but I am not sure I will be able to get them shipped here in the south.

[Kristin C]

Cheryl-I have a Beagle Aussie mix and a Chihuahua mix. I don’t worry too much about the fat in the Orijen since they only get one meal per week of it. The freeze dried is expensive so I just keep it in rotation because it’s great when traveling.

I have tried Stella and Chewy’s FD but don’t love the ingredients. It’s does rehydrate well though. I have not tried the toppers since I make most of the dog’s food myself and only use kibble 1-2 times per week. S&C is treated with HPP and I don’t care for that either.

I am actually going to order some Primal Sardine grind to try, maybe some beef too. Primal uses HPP on their poultry products. Where would you order Primal from? It looks like wag.com will have it shipped from the manufacturer.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Kristin,
Sorry I forgot to answer your question.
I can’t get real commercial raw where I live-so checking out various sites wag.com was the only site that even carried the “real frozen raw” not the freeze dried variety’s.
It did state it comes directly form the manufacturer at checkout.
I don’t think this is something I will do when it gets warmer here-in Louisiana it would be too risky to have raw shipped & to get it overbite would be too cost prohibitive.

[Mom2Cavs]

I actually use Stella & Chewy’s meal mixers to top my dogs’ kibble. I add water. It comes in 4 flavors, beef, chicken, turkey and salmon. I’ve used turkey and fish. My dogs love it and their doing great. I tried Orijen FD and while they loved it it didn’t work for them….stool too loose. I’m going to stick with Stella & Chewy’s
for now. The meal mixers are small bitesize nuggets but I also like their patties.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Mom2Cavs.
I will put it on my weekend research list.
Wow this list keeps growing.
I think its better if I researched less for the fur-kids and just started cooking all their meals, it’s coming to the point where I am going to do it-if I just felt confident enough I am feeding to meet nutritional needs, i think it’s easier than the endless research of all this foods 🙁
Thanks again for your input.
Cheryl

[Kristin C]

Hey Cheryl – go for it! I make my dog’s food, but as of a few months ago I have added the SSLL supplement because I am paranoid.

I looked up the Just for Dogs website, and it’s probably not something I would personally use. It appears they cook their food, I do raw (with 1-2 x per week kibble + FD). Their “balanced” supplement is for dogs with GI problems under vet care. They also do not ship frozen.

Don’t get too frustrated. Most people on the DFA forums have been through all the questions and doubts too. Just find what works best for you and your dogs. And consider it a process that you can re-evaluate and make better.

[Kristin C]

Oops. Cheryl-I thought this posted on the Dinner Mix topic, my bad.

[Dori]

Kristin C. Actually Just Food For Dogs does ship their frozen foods but you are correct in that their foods are not raw, they are cooked and frozen. They deliver to your door if you live locally, otherwise they ship frozen via Fed Ex.

[Debra J H]

My two love Stella & Chewy’s freeze-dried… any flavor. But not Honest Kitchen. I tried three options of that and they are not liking it. And Tucker will eat anything. A snood covers long ears to keep the food out of them.

[Author]

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